In my humble opinion & experience, the ones who are really ill do not want the attention, I certainly don't.
I am sure I am not the only person who has done exactly that. Kept it concealed from work for over 3 years... Interestingly also is how differently they treated me/tried to deal with any time off I needed when they saw the words ' mental health illness' on the doctors sick note instead of 'physical descriptions' that had previously been used.
Alas mental illness is a stigma which can follow for years in some eyes. It just adds even more barriers to sufferers coming forward
Half them on this site are off sick with broken bones and cuts that look like they were hit with a hatchet, others are just falling apart, needing new hips, or on fleabay trying to buy some part for a bike that makes them ache.
Hi Nameless Not sure whether you're still reading this thread but for what it's worth I thought I would add my experience, which may or may not be of some help. About 3 years ago I started to experience what I now know to be depression although it took a long time for me to accept that was what it was. I had constant headaches, a foggy head and the feeling that my IQ had suddenly halved. I couldn't concentrate and I lost interest in everything that I'd previously enjoyed. I'd had a couple of things happen with work and home but nothing that was insurmountable and I felt incredibly guilty that I had depression when others manage to go through far worse and seem unaffected. My GP put me on anti-depressants and they definitely helped me through it although to anyone who's not been on them the best way I can describe them is as earplugs for your emotions! They dampen everything down, which in a way is great as it stops the anxiety and worst elements of the depression but also stops the highs. After about 18 months I have recently come off them and I am feeling a lot better for it. I still have iffy days when I start to feel a wobble but the ups are worth it. I'm unsure about whether I'll ever get back to where I was but I do have moments, hours and sometimes even whole days when I feel 'normal'. I'm trying to focus on those and making each good stretch last longer. What I find helps is taking time to enjoy the little things in life. I find enjoyment in simple things like building a log store with my boy, mowing the lawn and of course polishing the bike! It's very easy to go through a day without ever having taken moments to enjoy parts of it, like the sunrise on the drive to work, someone smiling, talking about your day with the family. I find it takes effort to make sure you're in the moment to enjoy those things, which sounds odd that you have to make an effort to enjoy something so simple but it's those little things that make big differences. I used to think that I needed some big intervention or new drug to make me better but the more I work at it the more I realise that it's the little things that work. My bike is my latest tool to help and my god she's a beautiful tool! The great thing about riding a bike is that it takes your whole attention and leaves no room for random negative thoughts. I find it a great relief and the perfect way to blank out the bleak soundtrack that would otherwise be playing along in my head. I think that the fact that you've asked the question whether anyone has fully recovered from this means that deep down you think you can. Take it easy and focus on those small wins of moments when you feel great and just try to make them longer and more frequent and then yes I think you'll get there. My final thought is let's start a petition to get Ducatis prescribed on the NHS!!!
two lunatics break out of an asylum one night. They're standing on the rooftop and are debating how to get across to the next building to make good their escape. One says to the other " I've nicked this torch. I could switch it on and you could walk across the beam to the other building" The other replies "You must take me for some sort of mug, do you think I'm mad or something?... you'd turn it off when I was half way across!"
